Tag Archives: vacation

Today I’m going to bitch about foreigners.
As some of you know, I am really not a fan of foreign people here in the Philippines.
The ones that visit are normally sex tourists…. I’ll tell you a secret…on my blog insights page, many of the key search words people use to find my blog are geared towards sex tourism.

It’s disgusting.

The other ones, the ones that live here, take a Filipina as a wife, and think they’re all high and mighty because they’re accepting of the Filipino culture…..those people…….are total….. freaking……. bullshit.

They’re the same ones who say

‘Sure, I love my Filipina Wife….but she’s as dumb as a bag of bricks’
‘I love the Filipino culture, but boy are they sure lazy! Haw-haw-haw..’
‘I love the Philippines, but gee I wish they knew how to cook real food…’
‘Shopping is so cheap here, but oh my god, the lines are slow/the customer service is shitty/they rip you off for stuff…’
‘I love living here in this nice, convenient beautiful part of town, but I’m going to poison the neighbor’s dog/shoot their roosters’
‘It’s so great to drive with no license or registration, but gosh I hate the traffic’
‘Wow I had such a large argument with a local while buying my illegal DvDs…Filipinos should be ashamed of their behavior’

And on.
And on.
And on.

I could quote foreign stupidity for days, yet they say the Philippines is the stupidest group of people they’ve ever dealt with.

This country is full of people that know at LEAST two languages, Who work for shitty pay to serve your ass, Who have ONE day off a week if they’re lucky, and who have dealt with foreigners coming to their country for CENTURIES….don’t think every little thing is going to change simply because you want it to be more comfortable & familiar….

God Knows the west has already polluted the Philippine culture enough.

The women have lost their sense of Babaylan, and pride in their natural looks, and have become obsessed with being white, using harmful creams, soaps and lotions to bleach their skin.

The entire nation has a problem with voicing their depression, and instead choose to smile through the worst days rather than do the work to properly heal their minds and hearts.

They have experienced a loss of cultural identity & are approaching Historical Extinction…oral tradition and knowledge of pre-colonial history is in danger of being lost in favor of MTV, telenovellas, Pacquiao and Bruno Fucking Mars.
((No offense Mr. M, but srsly. Do something productive.))

I don’t believe ALL white people are the problem, just as I don’t believe ALL Filipinos are nice, of course…
But the great majority needs to shape up or ship out.

Also, Mr. Dumbass White Guy who just complained for two hours about how stupid Filipinos are, over beers in a bar with your new foreign best buddy you just met……do you really think you’re going to receive impeccable, perfect, or hell, even polite service from your waiter or waitress after that?

Every time you vocalize the fact that someone is lazy or stupid or annoying or unskilled or whaaatever, keep in mind you might just be getting what you expect because you’re an asshole, and not because what you’re saying is true.

Contrary to how you act, Filipinos actually have EARS and can not only hear your stupid blabbering, but they also understand it.
They also talk about you to others.
In a language you don’t understand because you don’t take the time to learn.
Because as much as you love the country….if you don’t love the culture, you’re just another invader on their turf….sitting pretty on their land, taking advantage of their hospitality, and doing nothing productive.

‘Oh but I sent so-and-so to school and paid this guys medical bills and bought groceries for that girl I had sex with yesterday!’

Yeah, thanks for the free cash, Joe!
Just because we take your money and let you pay for things doesn’t mean we like you or we think you’re helping….you’re just being a means to an end.

Harsh, rude, cruel……But oh-so-true.
If you really want to make a difference…set up a school or library and teach people….feed people by opening up a free farm where people can learn to garden….spay and neuter all the stray animals you see walking around everywhere….go out and pick up garbage from the land…..buying shit from stores and paying people’s bills is well and good, but you’re just perpetuating a reliance on foreign aid that has existed for centuries….you’re contributing to a damaging cycle of violence and oppression.

Yeah, So I got this resort ‘job’, at beautiful White Chocolate Hills Resort, in Zamboanguita.
‘job’ as in it’s not a real job, they just help with my visa and food in exchange for help online and blah blah, but whatever!
Holy is it a great job….every single one of my skills are utilized….design, graphic design and layout, website creation, SEO, logo/business card/brochure making, photography, gardening, social media marketing, techstuff, etc etc etc…..SUCH A GOOD FIT FOR MY LIIIIIFFFFEEEE!!!!

I love the social aspect of it, I love talking to new people, I love making reservations, I love the office work…the office reminds me of being a kid…I used to set up a wee little casio keyboard, my chalk board, pens and pencils and paper, and actually pretended I was a secretary……way to dream big, Little Me….way to go!

So bloody freaking happy….and I FINALLY got myself into the Pacific Ocean…swam a little bit until I got too scared I was going to get eaten by a shark or stung by some crazy-ass tropical fishy.

Anyways…..all you readers of mine, if you wanna visit the resort blogitty, I update that as well, once a day about the comings and goings of the place.

Ok so I have a little time to myself now to write out a bigger bloggity….

So you knew I think that I stayed for a while at the cop station….Here are a few pictures of my time there:

That is a few pictures of my little nippa hut….I actually didn’t mind it so much when I had 2 pillows to lay my bones on.I learned how to play Sangka in the shelter, and so here is a picture of my home made sangka board:

And here is the kitty that lives at the copshop that kept me company and became my best friend….her name is Mimi:

Anyways, after I left there, I stayed with a wonderful woman who owns a group that offers free legal help to women and children dealing with abuse. Her group really does a lot of great things, and helps a lot of people….while I was there, they had a bike ride across three towns, but I couldn’t go because she had too many people in her car.She has a fish pond, and here are a few cool shots from there:

After I stayed at this house, I really hustled my butt off looking for a job…I met a few people in Valencia that introduced me to a few others, and one of the introductions was to the owners of White Chocolate Hills resort in Zamboangita….They liked me, and so they hired me!

The terrible part was that I had accepted a job with an older lady in Dumaguete, under the impression that I would be her companion, and do errands, some cooking, and bending and reaching for things that she needed….unfortunately, the job turned out to be more of a live-in maid situation, and also required me to give medical care if needed, which included needles.

Now, I don’t care if they’re mini-diabetes needles that you don’t even see….I DON’T FREAKIN DO NEEDLES.PERIOD.ZIPPO.

And the offer for the resort had exactly the same perks, room and board and meals….but also was offering double the salary.I had to think ahead, and worry about my financial future. I took the job with the resort and I had to politely tell the Lady that I couldn’t work for her….it was a bit of an uncomfortable talk, but things are ok now, she’s fine…..

Her friend, a local writer for a local newspaper, however…was downright rude and insulting, telling me I had made a mistake, chose wrongly, ‘no wonder you’ve had so many jobs in your life’ and that I only look at the short term, not the long-run.

Excuse You?I didn’t realize you knew me like that!Furthermore, it is my very, very humble opinion that working for a company that provides health and security benefits, an actual contract, and whom do work with local charities and conservation groups, and are researching local marine preservation and aquaponics systems is looking further into the future than you can do, Buster.

Dude was WAY off base with his assumptions and judgements….but then again….most people who judge me are pretty darn off base.I’m much more hidden to people than they realize.

Oh well.I am having a great time here, and I’ve only been here two days.I leave you with flowers that remind me of birds.

Well, by a few amazing strokes of luck, networking, and butt-busting, I was offered a job.

The above snaps are two really quickly-shot pictures I just took showing the lower section of the White Chocolate Hills Resort, which is now my newest nest.

I am a booking agent, general manager, overseer Lady, and I think I’m really going to fit in here.The resort is reservation-only, and just in the last three months they have gone public, where previously, the resort was only open to members of Lyoness.

Anyway, I just wanted to quickly update, I will post a longer update soon.

Damon made me the most delicious pasta the other night.It was so beautiful I took a photo of it.

Damon-food

Today we did indeed go for a drive, up to a beautiful waterfall and swimming area… He had made BLT wraps for me…((It was supposed to be a picnic)) And I stupidly forgot to take pictures, forgive me… But this is the kicker that I don’t really understand… He seems to be in a terribly bad mood.

He sped us home at eighty miles an hour on gravel roads, then went to sleep. In turn, that’s made me frustrated and confused, since I thought we were having a really nice, calm day filled with beautiful sights, and I have no idea how to make him feel any better, or what even went wrong in the first place, but he gets in moods like this, his mother usually being the main cause with all her nagging and complaining about jobs and money and trivial things… I really don’t know how a human can complain so much while living in paradise, to be honest.

I, for one, have never seen a waterfall like that in real life, I was very excited… I got right down to the edge of it and felt the wind and spritzy water whipping into my face… All the little Filipino kids snuck around behind me and were tagging along, even though I didn’t really say hello due to my shyness with strangers, only smiled and nodded… I think they were surprised a foreigner, let alone a girl was getting so close to the water.It was colder than I had anticipated, I was expecting warm volcano water or something, but it was about the same temperature as a warm lake in mid-summer in Canada…not terribly cold, but definitely not bath-water-warm, either.

On the property, there were ducks and rabbits and turkey-looking birds with spots, I saw a little lizard running along the rocks, and there was a chili bush like ours, only much, much bigger.

Our backyard chili bush

He says we’ll go again sometime, but I don’t really want to speed up there, the roads are scary and bumpy, and on the way up, I watched someone wipe out on their bike.The idea of crashing a bike going eighty with no helmet, and nothing to protect the knees, arms or anything is a terrifying thought.

Well, I almost didn’t write a new post today…no news is usually good news, but I suppose being the author of a bloggity…no news is bad views?

So I suppose I shall talk today about driving on the Scoopy.

Way back in the day, when I was a little youngster, I thought it would be awesome to get my driver’s license… a personal milestone of life-changing grandeur, opening a whole new world of opportunities and greatness. I couldn’t wait to turn sixteen and buy a cheap rust-bucket to call my own.
As sixteen got closer and closer to becoming a reality, I realized that having a car was highly overrated, way too expensive, and much more work than I was willing to put in, and in the end, I never ended up getting my license.

When I moved out to the Philippines at first, the roads and traffic terrified me… the people here are insane on the road, and rivaled only by Montreal, in my mind.
My husby Damon told me I would get used to it, and that while it looks chaotic and dangerous, there actually is somewhat of a method for driving here. I thought he was just as insane as the rest, especially after telling me that when he’s alone on the bike, he drifts around corners and reaches speeds of over eighty without a helmet… Can you say potential street pizza???

Eventually though, after about four months of my being here, I got the driving itch. One day when there was nothing going on and I was ready to crawl out of my own skin at the boredom I was feeling, I decided to hop on the bike and go for a spin.

Previous to this, my only experience with the bike was being on the back with him, and one teensy instance of driving it from the Sari-sari to our house…a grand, majestic total of about a two-minute trip down the driveway.
I had never driven a car in my life, let alone a scooter, which is what we own.

So the day I drove alone, I went up the mountain… Deciding that since I hadn’t been up that way yet after months of asking Damon to take me, I’d just go right ahead and take my damn self.

I have to say, it was a lovely drive, the flowers, trees and various plant life here are all breathtaking, not to mention the scenic views of the city from the mountainside.
I could feel the local people all staring at me, and a few tried to get my attention, or said hello as I drove past… but being a foreigner here, it’s getting to be a normal thing for me to experience.

I almost drove myself off the road trying to avoid a baby chicken, and at one point I was stopped by a large herd of goats, but other than that, the ride up was smooth and beautiful.
I found what looks to be a park, that I want to investigate further, and I saw an old Lady sweeping grass clippings off the side of the road. I took the time to appreciate and admire her work, the way the freshly swept soil looked richer and darker for her doing so…

The way back home was a bit frustrating, I definitely got lost, and got a few smirks from people as I passed them more than three times trying to find my way…
I decided at one point to stop and ask for directions, and realized as soon as I did that I was on my own darn street.

I got home just before the tank ran dry, and decided I think I may very well fancy this driving stuff… I can’t wait to go out and adventure again…next time, I’ll remember to bring my camera.

This may as well be an introduction as well as a critique… I have a lot to say, but know I must keep my posts short-ish and sweet to lock you in as a potential regular.

I am a 26 year old Lady living in the Philippines, originally hailing from Nova Scotia, Canada.
I moved here to be with my husband, who, up until about eight years ago, also used to call Canada home.

This blog came about in the last few days as a protest and response to another blog I found while surfing on the internet… It is a self-proclaimed ‘personal journal’ that a fifty-something year old man from America had started back in 2005, chronicling his move and subsequent retirement in the Philippines.

While reading his posts, I’ve discovered the blatant racism and distastefully vulgar opinions that I’ve been warned about by my husband…He tells me most foreigners that move to or visit the Philippines are here for the ‘Sex Tourism’ and the ability to easily take advantage of the local population.

Seems to be very true for this guy… he jokes around about having sex with women in their early twenties, talks about his rich friends who do the same, he insults the people, calls them ugly, and talks about hanging around in the places my husband has warned me about… Pick-up spots like the Whynot discos and the McDonalds, etc.

It disgusts me that old white men from America and Europe can come to a beautiful paradise such as this and mar it with their revolting, beastly ways.
Every Filipino I’ve ever met or spoken to here is so polite and happy that it is almost unnerving, and the beauty of the people is well-matched by the beauty of the landscape.

So basically, I will be keeping this blog as a record of my own experiences here… not as a rich, spoiled, fat, white foreigner, but as a simple Lady living a simple life with her husband in a beautiful land.

I hope you’ll come along, and enjoy a different take on what I now consider to be our home country.